THE life of one of the country’s most famous writers will be celebrated at the Central Library next weekend.

The Regent Circus library will be holding a Dickensian Christmas event to mark the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth next Saturday.

The free event will see a range of activities throughout the day, all with a Dickens theme.

There will be a special Dickens StoryTime and songs, while WBLETS (the junior section of Wootton Bassett’s Light Operatic Society) will sing Christmas carols in the library’s Drum Entrance.

Explore Learning will also be hosting a children’s creative writing workshop in the Children’s Library for six to 10-year-olds, although places must be booked in advance.

A mixture of music and poetry will take place in the 2nd Floor Reading Room with local harpist Christine Kinder performing Christmas music on a Concert Harp. Meanwhile, Peter Robinson will read poetry from the anthology A Mutual Friend: poems for Charles Dickens.

The day will end with a lecture/presentation by Dr Keith Hooper entitled The Christmas Stories of Charles Dickens – The Carol, The Cricket and The Chimes.

For more details, contact Colin Curtis on 01793 463782.